


Nothing bad happened in New Albion (For the most part)

by Earako



Category: Paul shapera - Fandom, Shaperaverse
Genre: Alternate Universe, And lets just say I take a page out of Mr.Shapera's book, Fix-It of Sorts, For the most part nothing bad happens to them, Gen, but uh..., there is twist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:36:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24580126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Earako/pseuds/Earako
Summary: A series of short stories where the narrative ran differently.Will explore the various albums of the Shaperaverse, though some I am more competent in writing than others so apologies for mischaratarization of forgotten events.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 9





	1. Steampunk

In another narrative without the wheel that turned out post humans, the story went a little differently. For instance, Annabelle McAllistair learned early on that life accompanied by numbers alone was no life at all. Instead of losing herself in number land, Annabelle found companionship with the lower class boy who’s brilliance won him a spot at her junior level educational facility. His mind was amazing...and soon Annabelle felt the beginnings of a small crush.

The crush grew to infatuation, and much to her delight, it appeared to be reciprocated. They became inseparable at school, and were often described as being attached to the hip. Jasper continued his research in more mundane topics while Annabelle grew more bold and daring in her scientific exploits. She became obsessed with the notion of souls and spirits, and even went out of her way to scout abandoned graveyards in hopes of procuring some materials for her experiments.

Now it is at this point in Kate’s narrative where Annabelle’s spiral and eventual downfall began. But this area of the meta verse is hardly touched by post humans. The events here are much kinder to our dear Annabelle.

Jasper came to know of her research and earnestly discouraged her in fear of the repercussions that may befall her should the university find out. They argued, debated, and inevitably said things they didn’t mean to one another. Annabelle took her notes and research and set off on her own for a couple of weeks, worrying her room mate. She came back shaken when her experiment succeeded for a brief moment.

The veils of life and death are not to be messed with. Annabelle learned that the hard way. She burned her notes and returned the cadavers, a reluctant Jasper roped into helping her.

-/-

Years more passed and what Jasper and Annabelle assumed was love faded and bloomed into a more familial emotion. The pair came to see themselves more as close friends, cousins almost. The kiss, they came to understand, was likely due to the desire for friendship, and in their teenage haze they immediately jumped to romantic affection. Age however revealed a broader spectrum of the emotion called love. And so the two continued their graduate years not as lovers, more like, platonic soul mates. A few years more and Annabelle found herself introduced to Jasper”s girlfriend, and soon, wife. 

The couple blessed Annabelle with the title “godmother” and asked for her input on the child’s name. The bouncing baby girl’s angelic face reminded Annabelle of the fairy tales she and Jasper would sneak off to read in a sectioned off corner of the New Albion library. She suggested Fay for the child, and Fay was wrapped in the love of her three new parents.

-/-

Edgar came as a welcome surprise. The boy was infatuated with Fay and would often try and convince her to stay just a couple minute more with him. Jasper, at first, found his behaviour cute and endearing. Then asking for five minute became ten. Ten fifteen, Fifteen, twenty, and so on and so forth. 

Jasper never saw the boy’s parents or guardians come to retrieve him. When he voiced his concerns the boy just hid behind Fay. The girl gave her father a sheepish smile and tried to coax the boy out. He did so, albeit with great reluctance. The boy said that he had no parents. He wasn’t even a student at the school. During class time the boy would sit outside the window and absorb as much information as he could. One day, the boy swore, he would be sitting in a classroom, learning complex formulas and theorems. Numbers, he said to Jasper, were a great comfort to him. Jasper brought him home to his wife and Annabelle. He introduced the boy as Edgar.

-/-

Annabelle and Edgar quickly grew fond of one another. He ravenously devoured her notes and bombarded her with questions, his curiosity overflowing in his tiny young body. Jasper’s wife remarked with an eye roll that Edgar and Annabelle were meant to be. To the outside world, Annabelle and Edgar were already mother and son. One fateful dinner, Edgar gifted Annabelle with another treasured title. Mom.

Annabelle was delighted and terrified and ecstatic and fearful at the notion of motherhood. Her experience with Fay was more of an aunt role. Fay even called her Aunt Ana. Edgar was different.He looked to Annabelle alone to fill the parental void in his life and the concept of having such a powerful position frightened Annabelle.

Her own parents never cared much for her. They were never explicitly abusive, but they were awfully distant. Their rebukes were especially harsh. They contained no lesson; only the message that Annabelle disappointed and failed them. She refused to do the same to her new son.

When Edgar began showing mannerisms similar to her own, Annabelle used her life experiences as lessons. She, with the help of Jasper and his wife guided his insatiable curiosity in a more positive light. They cautioned him when his infatuation with Fay grew worrisome, and soon enough, like Jasper and Annabelle, Fay and Edgar grew to see once another as family.

Generations passed and Annabelle and Jasper watched their family expand. From their grandson Byron, to their granddaughter Priscilla, who loved to sit with her grandparents as they read, the trio found themselves incredibly content with the way their narrative was handled. 

And nothing bad happened in the city of New Albion.


	2. Dieselpunk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one ended up being a lil more flangsty than angst. Curse you Mr.Shapera for making the O'Briens nothing but angst-

Away from the steampunk narrative, a dieselpunk one ran. Though this one lied a little more to the left and a few more stories down. It is here where Jackie O’ Brien learned to like birthdays again and where John O’Brien found solace in the form of a little girl who’d become his daughter.

John and Jackie did not grow with wealth. Which is unfortunate because apparently, their classmates did. Poor Jackie would often have to turn down birthday invitations, her parents wouldn’t be able to afford a gift and showing up to a birthday party without a gift is a cause for extreme shame and embarrassment. To no surprise, classmates over time stopped asking, advising new students against attempting to play nice with the weird loner. John would try to get them to quit picking on his sister but he wasn’t as well versed in scaring people off as Jackie was despite being the elder one.

Jackie’s classmates found her difficult to approach. She was always so grumpy, and the fact that her face naturally fell into a frown didn’t help. She never tried to make friends and when it came to group projects she’d answer any questions that came her way in as little syllable as possible. The only time anyone saw her expression change is when her brother was around. Her frown would immediately shift into not quite pity, but something similar to it the moment she saw her elder brother slouched over after having rejected an invitation from his friend. Jackie hated how he always felt like she needed him at home, that he had to manage the house while his parents worked. It irritated her to no end how John took everything upon himself. He was her brother, not her mother, yet he never ceased his attempts at playing the role. She refused to believe it was guilt causing her to despise her brother's mother henning.

Birthdays for Jackie quickly became synonymous with John’s sadness and alienation from her classmates. Birthdays were sad smiles from their parents as they along with Jackie and John tried to scrape something together to at least get a small, cheap, rejected cake that ended up coming back up a few bites in. Birthdays were John waiting until Jackie went to sleep so he could cry at how they were having their childhoods robbed. Birthday’s for the O’Brien siblings were miserable events and would remain so until Constance arrived.

-/-

It was a complete coincidence that John heard the faint cry of a child during his walk home from the academy. He paused for a moment, listened. Shook his head and continued to walk on. Then the sound grew louder. And Louder. And louder. The sound must be coming from the direction he was walking in. Maybe he should check it out…

It wasn’t his business. Or, maybe it was. No, it couldn’t. The only thing John needed to worry about was passing his senior year so he could finally find a better job. Just because Jackie managed to land a scholarship in city (on top of working too! The fact she actually stayed and didn't flake out like usual filled John wirh pride) didn’t mean he couldn’t contribute as well. Besides, it wouldn’t hurt to try to make up for some of what Jackie had missed out on during their childhood...

The noise grew clearer. Stronger. Finally, John couldn’t deny that the sound was definitely someone crying. The sobs sounded young- perhaps a lost child? Surely it wouldn’t do any harm to check…

With a sigh and a curse at his bleeding heart, he rounded a corner and was met with the form of a small child curled up against the wall, shivering. Her tiny form looked so miserable and pathetic. It would tug even at Jackie’s heartstrings. He sighed again, fought with himself, then finally, he approached the young child, stopping about six feet away from her. John crouched down to her height.

She was scared for a bit, but with some effort, she slowly crawled closer to John. He asked if she was lost. She didn’t answer. He asked if she was hungry. Her rumbling stomach answered for her. He let out a small laugh and stood to his full height, offering a hand to the small girl. She hesitantly took it. 

John led her to a small little diner. He had a little bit leftover from his paycheck at the factory, and the diner had pretty cheap prices for fairly decent food. It took a bit of encouragement but soon the child was happily munching away at a grilled cheese, fry basket, and milkshake combo. 

John eventually got her name. It was Constance. And Constance soon became a constant in the O’Brien family.

-/-

Jackie did not expect to come home to a niece. Three years had passed since she left for the city centre. Thoughts about her family fueled her drive to work harder and smarter than any of her classmates and co-workers. She hoped she sent back enough for her family to live comfortably. The pay was far better than anything her parents ever made, and no doubt her brother could use the help. The idiot was always overly self-sacrificial. Speaking of her brother…

He’d be about twenty...27 now? Of course, she never really bothered to call to wish him a happy birthday. The word alone still held bitter memories for Jackie. The hatred towards birthdays from her childhood followed her far into her adult life. She couldn’t even pass by the greeting card section of the grocers.

Imagine her surprise when she caught her brother one day browsing the birthday card section. Her brows furrowed in confusion. Birthdays were the absolute worst for her and John, he himself once had an aversion to the phrase ‘happy birthday.’ And now here he was, purchasing a birthday card.

-/-

Of course, they fought. They fought about John’s impulsive decision to take in the child. They fought and yelled and screamed at one another in the middle of the grocery store before they were politely asked to take their argument elsewhere.

The siblings complied and stormed outside of the store. John had his arms crossed and turned away from his sister. Jackie rubbed her temples to stave away the oncoming headache. She turned to yell at John, but he was quick to defend himself. He said Jackie should at least get to know Constance first before judging him further. Jackie agreed. She followed John back home to meet her niece.

-/-

Jackie had to admit at first she was ready to tear into John for taking a kid in on top of caring for their ageing parents. She thought he’d be struggling to provide not only for himself but for his daughter as well. She feared that her brother's bleeding heart would pull him right back to where they were when they were kids. She thought wrong.

Constance loved her grandparents and it saddened her when John suggested getting their own place. John paused. In the city the quality of the grocers, healthcare services, and schools were much better than in their current area...he sighed. Mother always said he took after her. Selling the house would also help provide some extra income...And so it was agreed that all the remaining O'Briens would move int the city. -/- To Jackie's surprise, the house he chose was only a couple of tram rides down. How they haven't crossed each others paths before was curious. Neither sibling dwelled on that thought for too long, they were absorbed in the feeling of fate finally showing kindness to their family. Things were looking up.

And it seemed most of that was because of Constance.

Constance gave John a goal to work towards. Constance kept her grandparents feeling young and happy. Constance worked hard in school and appeared to excel in maths, making her opinion on the family budget quite valuable.

And Constance over the years, ever so slowly began to change Jackie’s opinion on birthdays. By the time Constance hit her late teens, the phrase happy birthday no longer left a bitter taste on Jackie’s tongue.

And nothing bad happened in this narrative in New Albion. (For the most part).


	3. Atompunk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rachel didn't need him. She'd make it just fine on her own, screw that jerk.
> 
> Lee and his father needed to talk. Some things just weren't okay and damnit Connor what were you thinking?!

A few more narratives down, the atompunk era awaits, with Rachel, Mascot, Lee, and Adrian. In this narrative fates were much kinder to the players. The Dieselpunk narrative slowly expanded and evolved into a city that eased into atomic, nuclear energy; diesel energy proved to be more difficult to depend on as New Albion grew. Nuclear energy, they found, was in large supply, and far more dependable than diesel. It was an average town, this atom ran New Albion, but not without its own narrative conflicts.

-/-

Rachel unfortunately, found herself falling for the whims of a man that had the moral backbone of a kitchen sponge. That is to say, he was an absolute, no good, rotten scumbag interested only in lining his pockets regardless of the means required to do so. Sadly, Rachel ended up being one of his means. A lovely secretary she was, and the man, who made far too much use of his second head, seduced her and swept her into bed. To no surprise, Rachel soon found herself pregnant with his child.

The man became infuriated. He demanded that Rachel rid herself of the child and threatened to toss her into an asylum if she refused. So Rachel did what any rational person would do. She socked the man in the nose and bolted out of his office, the thought of her unborn child spurning her to get as far away from the man as possible. The man didn’t give chase. That would look highly questionable and may even tarnish the image he’s worked so hard to craft. All he could do was hope that Rachel kept quiet about who sired her child. And if she didn’t well. He had resources he wasn’t afraid to tap in to.

Karma bit him when a few years later the police charged him with numerous felonies and saddled him with an armful of child support payments. She relished in his misfortune. The man deserved it. Her new family thought so too.

-/-

It’s not that Lee hated his father. It’s just, the man was just so overbearing at times. He couldn’t really fault him though, after all, Lee was the baby of the family. His older sister, Mascot, already left for college and his mother, Amber, was constantly swamped with work, leaving Lee alone with his father most of the time. The old man, well, sometimes he’d get too lost in his own head. He’d feel abandoned, alone. Lee’s read some books about the emotional lows people can go through as they grew older and their family moved on with their own lives. This though. This was just ridiculous. Following him on his date with Adrian, glaring at Adrian, accusing Adrian of stealing him son away. It had to stop. Lee had humoured his father’s protectiveness in the past but this was beyond okay. He needed to nip this in the bud before it became a major problem.

Thank the stars that Adrian was so understanding. He held Lee’s hand while they explained to Connor the importance of respecting Lee’s boundaries. They cleared up the rumours Connor’s hear about the organization they volunteered at and even invited him to observe the community work they actually did and not just what the rumours claim. And although Connor still didn’t fully approve of their relationship, he learned to keep his disapproval to himself for the sake of his son’s happiness. It was the least he could do after the scene he made at the cafe Adrian and Lee were visiting. It helped that Lee also...encouraged his father to cover the cost for the table he somehow managed to split in half. It was a nice heavy wood table too.

Lee grew older and soon he married Adrian. Connor was invited of course, but he still felt a little uneasy when it came to their relationship. He stayed for the ceremony but declined the invitation to the wedding reception. It wasn’t until Mascot and Amber confronted Connor about his behaviour and warned him that the more he showed disdain towards his son’s husband, the further he’ll push him away.

It took some (an enormous amount) of effort for Connor to finally see Adrian as someone other than the person who took his son away.

He didn’t take Lee from Connor. He gave Lee, and by extension Connor, a bigger family. Five years after their marriage he finally got that.

-/-

Finding a job is difficult. Finding a job while heavily pregnant, even more so. Luckily for Rachel, the couple who hired her understood her situation and gave her a couple of hours at their shop five times a week. They introduced themselves as Lee and Adrian, both of them being mindful to not show too much interest in Rachel\s swollen belly.

The job and pay weren’t all that bad. Rachel saved up enough to move into a bigger apartment and with the excess she planned to purchase some baby supplies. The keyword is planned.

See, Lee, Adrian, and Mascot have come to view Rachel as a close friend, family even. So when they saw her making a list of baby supplies during work, instead of telling her off they offered some of their old stuff. Mascot still had a pile of her and Lee’s baby clothes, Adrian had some cloth that could be sewn into bibs, Amber had some old stuffed animals that her children hardly touched.

Rachel didn’t like being pitied though, and she made that clear to them. They were quick to apologize, yet insisted that if she needed anything, anything at all they wouldn’t mind helping out.

Rachel ended up taking the clothes. After browsing the prices for baby clothing on her phone she quickly agreed that second clothing for free would be better than buying new clothes every month. Amber was more than happy to finally put all those baby clothes to good use.

-/-

The man eventually tracked down Rachel. He was furious that she had the kid. Rachel didn’t care. The man didn’t scare her and he sure as well couldn’t scare the friends that have become her family. When the man tried to strike her, Lee and Adrian swiftly booted him out of the house, leveraging Conner’s position in the police against him should he ever try to contact Rachel again. With that, his chapter in Rachel’s life came to a close, a new one with the Morgans opening up.

The baby grew up with her mama, her uncles, and aunts. She never lacked in love and never cared to know about the father who never did right by her mother. She was bathed in love, and warmth, even by Connor who was still slowly unlearning his previous behaviours.

And in this new narrative, nothing bad happened in the city of New Albion...for the most part.


	4. Lost Hollow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Son Mi reminisces about the strange man that helped her as a young girl. Meanwhile, she finds it amusing that her granddaughter displays the same attitude towards showmanship as the man in her mother's stories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder how many times I used the word cabaret in here....
> 
> This chapter was a bit of pain to wrestle. I was debating whether I wanted to go into all of Gadly, Carnival, etc. and decided it'd flow better if I just put all of lost Hollow as one.

A few more narratives to the right and a little way up sat the town of Lost Hollow. The Real town with Real people and a Real environment that didn’t play a recursive loop. This Lost Hollow was not built by ai’s, as a matter of fact, the ai’s never became ai’s in the first place. Mary never lost her husband and her children, there were no attempts to break into and colonize Elysium. Without the formation of the voodoopunk religion, ideas about the soul and the afterlife varied among groups and individuals. For the most part, people agreed that you lived, you died, and something happened with your soul afterwards. Not many could say what, a few had ideas, and others didn’t want to spend their short mortal lifespan worrying over it and pushed all thoughts of an afterlife to the back of their minds.

In this new narrative, Son Mi was brought back to her mother by a man who said he was a close friend of someone her mother knew a long time ago. The man didn’t stick around though. He just made sure she was back home safe and sound then gave her a curt nod as he turned to leave. Son Mi never got his name. She was grateful anyways.

Her mother did her best to raise Son Mi on her own. Son Mi’s father, she said, was more of a fling really, there wasn’t much passion between them. When they met, both were in a fairly unstable place, both physically and mentally. But she never wanted Son Mi to think that she was a mistake. She was a surprise and a very pleasant surprise at that. Son Mi grew up with the love of her mother, she went to school, fell in love, and soon ended up having a child of her own. That child too went to school, grew up, fell in love and in what felt like no time at all, blessed Son Mi with a granddaughter. A lovely little thing they agreed to name Han Mi.

-/-

Han Mi grew up with her mother, father, and grandmother. On some nights, she’d catch her grandmother staring off into the distance. On days like these, little Han Mi sat by her grandmother's side and gently tugged at her skirt. She’d ask about what Son Mi was staring at. Son Mi would tell her she was thinking of a man she met long ago, and how she never got to know his name. Han Mi asked about how she met the man. Son Mi replied that she was lost, and the man helped bring her back to her mother. A comfortable silence always followed after Son Mi’s stories.

Over time, Son Mi thought of the strange man more and more. She didn’t know why she felt a strange connection to him, a connection beyond just gratitude. She felt as if the man were significant to her somehow. But she could never figure out why the stranger felt so important, or why it bothered her after all these years that she never got his name.

She still remembered what he looked like. He was rather tall and wore a long trench coat with a newsboys cap pulled low over his head. He had a voice suited for radio, or at least that was Son Mi’s personal opinion. She also remembered him seeming rather intent on getting her back home to her mother. Now that she was older she found that a tad bit strange. Surely the stranger could have dropped her off at the police station or found a phone booth to call her mother on. But no, the man wanted to be certain that Son Mi came back home safe and sound. He acted as if he had some sort of obligation to Son Mi.

She never found out that he did. Nor did she find out that in another life, he would have been another father to her.

-/-

Han Mi and Helen were inseparable. Whether during or after school, the two girls could always be found acting out fantastical stories for hours on end. Someday, Helen said, she and Han Mi would make a place for them where they could perform shows all day long, and people would come from all over to watch them.

Both Han Mi and Helen kept a shared notebook of their play scripts and story ideas. Each day during recess, Helen and Han Mi snuck away to work on their plans for a cabaret, although at this point Helen didn’t know what a cabaret was yet. They’ve been calling it a playhouse so far. It was their new friends, Hank and Henry that suggested a cabaret (after a quick explanation of what exactly a cabaret was). Of course, they couldn’t build one now. When they were older they'd try to pool together their money to buy a building or some land for their cabaret. They even had a name picked out. Ms.Helen’s Weird West Cabaret.

Their parents thought this was a passing phase and would be forgotten once the children hit their teen and early adult years. It didn’t. Every year that passed was a year closer to the quartets' goal of opening up their very own cabaret. They practiced performance arts, scriptwriting, architecture, costume design, and financials (running a cabaret would not be cheap).

In the back of Son Mi’s mind, she remembered her mother telling her about an arts major she met one day, and how he was so bright-eyed and optimistic. His job, however, quickly snuffed that out, and Son Mi’s mother never saw the man again. From the stories she’s heard, the man would have made a wonderful showman in another life. Her mother said he was a masterful storyteller and had a way with words, crude as some of his stories may have been.

Son Mi looked over at her granddaughter excitedly going over the plans for the new building she and her friends bought for their cabaret. She could hear her talking about storylines, play ideas, songs.

She came on opening night and applauded the loudest at the end of the show.

And in this narrative, nothing bad happened in New Albion.

Well, for the most part.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Like watcha read? I'm over @Earako if you wanna chat!


	5. The Post Humans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, we take a look at what may have been for the post humans. Where fate was much kinder, but also, much crueller. Where family ended up being the bonds they shared, and not the blood ties. A tale where, for the most part, nothing too bad happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In hindsight, listening to justacorp while writing this is probably why it ended up focusing a lot on David-  
> What can I say, I love the guy.

In another narrative, the beings known as post humans never came into existence. The Wheel that created them never existed in this narrative. Michael, Jill, Asha, Lloyd, David, William, Kate, all of them remained grounded in the rules of their reality. There was no beast or creature to lure Michael into the metaverse, and the crosssroad posties never existed so the voodoo death cult never went after Lloyd. And the legendary William was simply the co-author of Astonishing Tales of the Highly Improbable; a series written alongside his friend and publisher, Lloyd Allen. 

In this reality with the posties confined to fate, Michael, well, he sort of grew up in the swamplands, that part of his narrative didn’t change. But he was only a baby when the community came to realize that their crocodile-infested home could no longer support the rapidly growing civilization within it. So they moved. They found land that was more stable, set up huts that became houses, rocky paths that became roads. In an astonishing feat of sheer determination and will, the small town quickly revolutionized itself and became a booming community with major exports in agriculture.

While Michael loved his town, he longed to explore beyond it. He was always a curious little thing, searching and absorbing new information like a sponge. When he finally finished his compulsory schooling, Michael set out for the university of New Albion. It is here where he befriended the rest of the would-have-been post humans.

-/-

Jill never knew her father and thanked whatever higher being there was for that. Her mother never really spoke about him. Her aunts though had no problem dragging the man's name. It wasn’t like they intentionally meant to speak ill of him. It was just so...aggravating watching him break his promises over and over and over again. They acknowledged that as a sperm donor he did deserve at least some sort of respect. Keyword, some. Yes, he helped create Jill and that, in the eyes of her mother and her aunts, was the only thing he’d ever done right.

Jill never felt like she lacked anything. Her aunts and mother more than succeeded in playing both mother and father to her. They allowed her to explore herself, to find her own path in life. They tried their best not to stifle her, and, as is the case with all children, they didn’t always see eye to eye. During heated moments everyone would take some time to cool down before apologizing and hugging things out. No one ever stayed angry for long in Jill’s household.  
Like Michael, Jill’s curiosity was insatiable. She devoured books, music, podcasts, online articles. She tried regular school for a while, but it didn’t really click with her. So Jill’s aunts took it upon themselves to homeschool her. They got all the paperwork done, made sure they had the proper forms, permissions, etc, etc. And still, Jill’s mind kept hungering for more.

Her mother suggested the university of New Albion. Unlike compulsory school, universities allowed Jill to explore her own interests and strengths. Jill did some research of her own and agreed that the university sounded like something she wanted to try out. It seemed exciting, and slightly nerve-wracking, but mostly exciting!

It is at the university of New Albion that Jill became friends with Michael. The two became fast friends, their bond almost sibling-like. Two years into their schooling, they soon were joined by five more.

-/-

Asha had been working in the university library alongside David for about a year now. She rather enjoyed it. The job paid well, other students were respectful for the most part, and she liked the slow-paced, quiet atmosphere the library provided.

What she liked less were the increasingly growing bags underneath David’s eyes. She’d offer to cover for him numerous times, saying he could sneak in a quick nap. Goodness knows he needed it.

David declined every time. She didn’t understand why, and frankly she was close to just reporting him to her boss, but that seemed unnecessarily cruel, even if she did have his well being in mind. She didn’t really know much about the man, only that for some reason he worked three jobs and rarely seemed to get any sleep between them. Asha tried to ask him once, but all she got in response was a tired shrug before David left for his other job at an office somewhere. Asha could practically see the life draining out of him on his way out. It worried her. 

She and David weren’t particularly close friends. Sure they went out for coffee sometimes and they weren’t above teasing one another. But they rarely interacted outside of work. Still, she found herself concerned over David’s seemingly decreasing health.

A date is what he needed, she thought to herself. And she already had someone in mind. Her friend William said that his publisher and co-author could stand to interact with someone other than books and computers. She planned to text him after her shift. Hopefully David would thank her later.  
-/-

David was stressed, that wasn’t new. He was always stressed, between his jobs, his cousin, and the need to pay for her tuition alongside his own expenses. It wasn’t easy practically being a single dad. When he wasn’t working his attention was on the bills, keeping Kate fed and clothed, keeping a roof over their heads, budgeting every little thing down to the last cent. When he wasn’t stressing over that he laid on the couch consumed by the paralyzing fear that he wasn’t enough, that all the money he spent on cigarettes could have been going towards Kate, that Kate would grow to hate him for not being able to provide for her, damnit why did Kate get shoved into his arms, it wasn’t fair to either of them-

A text broke him out of his spiral. It was from Asha.

She said she and her friend thought he’d be a good match for a guy named Lloyd. A date? She set him up on a date? What the hell?

Kate apparently thought it was a good idea. The little brat was reading the text over his shoulder. David didn’t really think Kate was a brat, he just didn’t like the fact that she agreed with Asha.

He shrugged. Two against one. Well, what did he have to lose? The sooner he scared the guy off, the sooner he could go back to his familiar cycle of stress, panic, sleep, smoke, stress, repeat.

Or at least, that’s what he thought would happen. He surprisingly had a good time with Lloyd and even agreed to a second date. Which lead to a third, a fourth, a fifth.

Kate and Asha teased him relentlessly. David vowed to never let them meet. He didn’t think his pride could take any more hits.

-/-

Kate ended up in a group with Jill and Michael for a project. The older students needed the class for an open option and Kate needed it for a prerequisite. They decided to start research at the library, much to David’s dismay. It just so happened that this was the first time Kate visited the library during David's shift. She didn’t hesitate to greet her cousin when she saw him stacking books. Naturally, Asha was curious about how they knew each other. Kate said she and David were cousins and uh-oh, she mentioned that David was raising her and now Asha knew David was a single parent- That wasn't even the worst part. The worst part was that Asha and Kate seemed to be getting along. David would never know peace again. Asha elbowed him and told him to stop being so dramatic.

-/-

Asha soon became a constant, as did Jill and Michael. They even offered to help out with Kate by offering their old textbooks, notes, electronics and clothing that was still in good shape so David didn’t have to spend a fortune on her supplies. At first, his pride didn’t allow him to accept what, in his eyes, was charity and pity. Then he nearly collapsed at work. That was when Asha along with Kate’s new friends, and even Lloyd, decided to stage an intervention. David couldn’t keep working himself to death. He needed help and he needed it now.

-/-

Kate’s friends eventually became David’s friends. Asha went from being just an acquaintance to a close friend, the same happened with William. And Lloyd? Well, their relationship bloomed into a full-on romance. And while some would call it unhealthy, the way they seemed to depend heavily upon one another just to function, it was kind of sweet? In a slightly alarming way.

Eh, there would be time to solve that in the future. For now, everyone wanted to enjoy the present. Things were nice, there was a certain peace they found in one another.

And in the university of New Albion, nothing too bad happened. Well, for the most part.


	6. Alexander

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few more narratives away sat a more modern New Albion. Join Alexander as he navigates his way through a rough childhood and gains a wife and family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh, soo close to finishing this! Here we have it, the second or third to last installment of this series. After this wellllll, lets say I have some surprised in store~

Where another narrative lay, a bit to the left of New Albion, a slightly parallel version of events ran. This New Albion was set a few decades ahead and what would be considered a more modern setting. Crime still remained the same however, and it is here where Alexander, Alice, and his mother, Isabela’s fate took a turn towards a kinder, gentler ending. It wasn’t without it’s own trials though, mother, son, and lover/daughter in law still had to work for their happily ever after.

Isabela’s marriage was one born out of convenience and protection. In an area where gang and turf wars were common it only made sense to marry one of the strongest, meanest mafia bosses out there. Only problem was that Isabela found herself turning mean and nasty as well. Not even her children, who came along a few years later, were exempt from her harsh nature. Any sort of maternal softness had long since been drained out of her with constant fighting, drinking, and various gang activity. She looked after her boys long enough so they wouldn’t die but made it clear that if they wanted to survive in the world they were born in they needed to be tough. 

Her eldest had no problem with adjusting to being a hard hearted stone faced gangster. Her youngest on the other hand was far too soft for everyone's liking. The boy was, to put it plainly, a pansy. A weakling. A crybaby who couldn’t even steal from a blind old lady. It worried Isabela.

She thought a few beatings would toughen him up, teach him that nothing good came from tears and pathetically sniveling. If he didn’t harden up soon he’d be chewed and spit out, then stamped out like the last embers of a dying flame. As harsh as Isabela was, she still loved her sons and wanted them to gain the skills needed to survive.

Her brother tried to toughen Alexander up with some drink and it nearly worked. The boy’s anger was truly a sight to behold, but it still seemed like Alexander's soft nature still fought. Then something...odd happened. She found herself in the company of another pair and eventually a distance grew between her and her husband.

When her eldest and her husband died Isabela decided to leave the gang scene all together, and so she took her only child left and let the empire of the red-haired family rot.

-/-

Alexander was confused when his mother woke him up in the dead of night and told him to “grab his shit we’re leaving.” He was still shaken up by the death of his older brother, the fact that they were never close didn’t matter; he was still family. Sure he may have been...really volatile and sure he killed their father in a grab for power but….

Actually maybe it was- no, that was a cruel way to think of his father and brother. Alexander’s heart didn’t have the malice in it to hold any hatred towards them, it’s just not how he was built. No, all Alexander felt was an odd sort of ache and confusion especially with how his mother had been acting.

Apparently she made some new friends. They never came over and Alexander knew nothing about them but they seemed good for his mother. She seemed more like...more like how he thinks a mother would be had she not given birth to him in a crime family. There was less of a cold feeling to her and Alexander welcomed the change cautiously. 

He ended up making his own friends too. His mother would drop him off at the neighbours everytime she went to hang out with her new friends and Alexander soon found himself befriending a young girl named Alice. She was gentle and kind and slowly helped Alexander heal from the harshness and trauma of his former life. She was almost doll-like, fragile and in need of protection. At least, that’s what he thought until he witnessed the incredible strength hidden in her tiny body.

With her parent’s permission, Alice and Alexander went to a park near her house. Unfortunately, a group of boys recognized Alexander from his family and made a bee-line towards him. Alexander went to push Alice behind him but to his surprise she charged at the boys and laid them all flat on their back. Alexander stood frozen with his jaw hanging, eyes wide. When Alice stepped away, brushing her hair back Alexander felt an odd feeling in his chest.

Oh dear….

-/-

The two children became teenagers and then young adults. They got together, moved in, and eventually got married. Then on day Alice heard what sounded like Alexander collapsing into one of the kitchen chairs. She rushed out of the room and saw her husband numbly staring at the wall, phone still held up to his ear. Alice gently pried it out of his hand and set it down. She placed her hands on his face and asked what happened.  


He was a big brother. At 22 years of age and legally an adult, his mother had apparently given birth to a baby girl. The father was the boyfriend of one of her friends. Thank goodness they weren’t monogamous.

Isabela told Alexander that she wanted to do better this time around. The years have forced Isabela to reflect on herself and the way she treated her kids. In the new environment she found herself in, she didn’t have it in her anymore to be the heartless mafia queen she used to be.

Isabela asked Alexander if he would be willing to help her out. She knew Alexander still carried hurt from how Isabela treated him and she had no right to be asking her son for help when she rarely hung around, especially once Alexander hit his teen years. But Isabela said she she really wanted to at least do one thing right and she was sorry and-

Alexander agreed. He was too stunned to do anything else, this was the most emotion he’d seen from his mother in years. It really seemed like she wanted to try this time and who was he to deny her a chance at redemption?

So with baby Son Mi, mother and son gradually mended the broken bridge between them. The ache lessened bit by bit, Alexander gained a step father (who said he could just call him uncle if it felt more comfortable. It did), and his baby sister grew up in a loving and somewhat stable environment.

And in this narrative, for the most part, nothing too bad happened in New Albion.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! Like watcha read? I'm at Earako on Tumblr if you wanna chat!


End file.
